Dan + Shay

Dan + Shay
Dan + Shay performing in 2017
Background information
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Pop[1] country pop[2] country[2]
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Warner Music Nashville
Members	Dan Smyers Shay Mooney

Dan + Shay (pronounced as "Dan and Shay") is an American country music duo composed of vocalists and songwriters Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney.^[3] They are signed to Warner Records Nashville and have released four albums, Where It All Began, Obsessed, Dan + Shay. and Good Things. Of their nine singles; five have topped the Country Airplay chart and two have topped the Hot Country Songs chart. In addition to their own material, the group's members have collaborated with Justin Bieber, Rascal Flatts, Lindsey Stirling, RaeLynn, and Kelly Clarkson. From 2019 to 2021, the duo won three consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for the songs "Tequila", "Speechless", and "10,000 Hours".

History[]

2013–2017: Where It All Began and Obsessed[]

Before the duo's foundation, Mooney was a solo artist on T-Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment label and Smyers was a member of a group called Bonaventure as well as a previous member of the band Transition on Floodgate Records.^[4] The two met in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 7, 2012, and started writing the day after they met. The first song they ever wrote together got put on hold for Rascal Flatts. Within two months, the duo had multiple publishing offers and signed with Warner/Chappell Music.^[5]

On October 14, 2013, the debut single, "19 You + Me", was released to country radio. Dan + Shay wrote the song with Danny Orton. The song received a positive review at Taste of Country which praised the "warm details" and "emotion."^[4] Their debut album, Where It All Began,^[6] was released on April 1, 2014, which Orton produced with Scott Hendricks.^[7] The album's second single, "Show You Off", was released to country radio on May 12, 2014.^[8] They performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performing "19 You + Me" in 2014. They made their Grand Ole Opry debut on February 1, 2014.^[9] They also received a 2014 Academy of Country Music Awards Vocal Duo of the Year nomination.^[10] The album's third single, "Nothin' Like You", was released to country radio on February 23, 2015. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in December 2015.

Dan + Shay was the opening act for Hunter Hayes on his We're Not Invisible Tour, which began in March 2014.^[11] Dan + Shay opened up for Blake Shelton on the 2014 leg of his Ten Times Crazier Tour. The tour began in June 2014 and ended in October 2014.^[12] Following the end of the Ten Times Crazier Tour, Dan + Shay embarked on their own 10-date headlining tour, entitled the "Where It All Began Tour." The tour began on October 9, 2014, in Minneapolis and concluded in Columbus, Ohio, on October 26, 2014.^[13] After the conclusion of the "Where It All Began Tour," Dan + Shay set out on the road once more with Hunter Hayes on his Tattoo (Your Name) Tour.

In August 2015, the duo announced the Just the Right Kind of Crazy Tour across the Midwest and eastern United States.^[14] Their sophomore album's first single, "From the Ground Up", was released to country radio in February 2016. The album's second single, "How Not To", was released to country radio on September 26, 2016. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in July 2017. The album's third single, "Road Trippin'", was released to country radio on July 17, 2017.

2018: Dan + Shay[]

In January 2018, the duo released "Tequila", the lead single from their self-titled third studio album, which was released on June 22, 2018. "Tequila" has since become their highest-charting effort on the US Billboard Hot 100, with it reaching the top 40. The album also features a collaboration with Kelly Clarkson on "Keeping Score".^[15] In August, they released Dan + Shay (The Vocals), which includes the vocal tracks of the two singles from the album.^[16]

2019–present: Good Things[]

On October 4, 2019, they released "10,000 Hours", a collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber, after his and Hailey Bieber's wedding in South Carolina on September 30, 2019. The song debuted at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The duo co-wrote Eric Ethridge's 2020 single "Dream Girl".^[17] On July 31, 2020, the duo returned with the single, "I Should Probably Go to Bed". They then came back with the single "Glad You Exist", which was released on February 5, 2021. On July 16, 2021, the duo announced their fourth album Good Things while releasing the album's title single "Good Things" and revealing the album's release date of August 13, 2021.^[18]In August 2021, the duo collaborated with Carrie Underwood on a cover of "Only Us" from Dear Evan Hansen, which they recorded for the soundtrack album of the musical's 2021 film adaptation. It was released as a single on September 3, 2021.^[19]

In popular culture[]

Dan + Shay song "Stop Drop + Roll" was featured on the Nashville season two episode, "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad". They were also featured on The Bachelorette in an episode that aired on June 7, 2016.

The duo also collaborated with violinist, dancer, and YouTuber Lindsey Stirling on a song from her third album Brave Enough. The song was entitled "Those Days", and the album was released on August 19, 2016.

Members[]

Dan Smyers[]

Dan Smyers

Daniel "Dan" Smyers, born (1987-08-16) August 16, 1987 (age 34) was raised in Wexford, Pennsylvania, where he attended North Allegheny Senior High School.^[20] He attended Carnegie Mellon University with plans to study finance and play football.^[21]

Prior to joining Dan + Shay, Smyers fronted an emo band called Transition, which released one full-length record in 2006 on produced by Mike Herrera, who is best known for his work with MxPx.^[22] Transition appeared on the Vans Warped Tour in both 2004 and 2006, and had opened for bands including All Time Low, MxPx, Streetlight Manifesto & Reel Big Fish^[23]

Instruments: Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Piano

Smyers and Abby Law were in a relationship for many years before becoming engaged in 2016 and were married May 13, 2017.^{[citation needed]} Law made a cameo in a Dan + Shay videos for their songs "Nothin' Like You", “Speechless” and "10,000 Hours".^{[citation needed]} Smyers and Abby work with Wags & Walks Rescue Nashville to save dogs and place them in their forever homes. They have five dogs together as of March 2021.

Shay Mooney[]

Shay Mooney

James Shay Mooney, born (1991-12-27) December 27, 1991 (age 29) was raised in Natural Dam, Arkansas, and attended Union Christian Academy and Van Buren High School. Following high school, he attended Valley Forge Christian College for one year before completely pursuing his music career.^[24]

Instruments: Vocals, Piano

On January 24, 2017, his fiancée Hannah Billingsley gave birth to their son, Asher James Mooney.^[25] Mooney and Billingsley were married on October 20, 2017, in Arkansas.^[26] On February 21, 2020, the couple welcomed their second son, Ames Alexander Mooney.^[27]

Discography[]

Studio albums

• Where It All Began (2014)
• Obsessed (2016)
• Dan + Shay (2018)
• Good Things (2021)

Filmography[]

Awards and nominations[]

Tours[]

Headlining

• Where It All Began Tour (2014–15)
• Just the Right Kind of Crazy Tour (2015) ^[14]
• The Obsessed Tour (2016–17)
• Dan + Shay Tour (2019)
• Dan + Shay The (Arena) Tour (2020)

Supporting

• We're Not Invisible Tour (2014) (with Hunter Hayes)
• Ten Times Crazier Tour (2014) (with Blake Shelton)
• Tattoo (Your Name) Tour (2014) (with Hunter Hayes)
• Good for a Good Time Tour (2016) (with Darius Rucker)
• Home Team Tour (2017) (with Thomas Rhett, select dates)
• Back to Us Tour (2018) (with Rascal Flatts)
• Can't Say I Ain't Country Tour (2019) (with Florida Georgia Line)
• Shawn Mendes: The Tour (2019) (with Shawn Mendes)

Touring band[]

• Justin Richards – guitar
• Dustin Hook – bass
• Andrew Cook – drums
• Izaac Burkhart – guitar, keys, backing vocals

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan + Shay.

• Official website